A conventional computer system utilizes a bus for data transfer among the components of the system. A popular bus architecture is the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus architecture, which includes numerous desirable features that are well known in the art. The PCI bus architecture is described, for example, in PCI Local Bus Specification, by the PCI Special Interest Group, 5300 N.E. Elam Young Parkway, Hillsborough, Oreg. The more recently developed COMPACTPCI.RTM. bus architecture is an implementation of PCI technology designed for industrial and/or embedded applications. The COMPACTPCI bus architecture is described in COMPACTPCI Specification, by PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (PCIMG.RTM.), 301 Edgewater Place Suite 220, Wakefield, Mass. COMPACTPCI and PCIMG are registered trademarks of the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group.
The COMPACTPCI standard places limitations on certain design aspects, such as the number of slots on the bus. Accordingly, it is advantageous to have a COMPACTPCI bus architecture based on multiple buses. Such a multiple bus architecture could have various configurations. However, providing a different backplane for each of these configurations is inefficient for the manufacturer and seller of the backplane and is expensive to a user who desires to upgrade a computer system to a different configuration. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a backplane for a multiple COMPACTPCI bus architecture that is capable of multiple configurations.